Detachable front for plug-tobacco boxes



(No Model.)

A. M. DOWNING.

v DETAGHABLE FRONT FOR PLUG TOBACCO BOXES. No. 599,552.

Patented Feb. 22, 1.898.

I wh ich UNITED STATES PATENT OFFIGE.

ARNOLDJVI. DOVVNING, OF KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI.

DETACHABLE FRONT FOR PLUG-TOBACCO BOXES.

SPEGJ ZFIGATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 599,552, dated February 22, 1898.

Application filed June 25, 1897. Serial No. 642,232. (No model.)

The invention consists in certain novel and peculiar features of construction and combinations of parts, as will be hereinafter described and claimed.

In order that the invention may be fully understood, I will proceed to describe it with reference to the accompanying drawings, in

Figure 1 represents a plug-tobacco box provided with a lid or door embodying my invention. Fig. 2 represents a view of the in nor side of the door; Fig. 3represents an edge view of the same, and Fig. 4 a sectional view of a part of the box and door to illustrate the fastener.

Heretofore it has been the custom of dealers on receiving boxes of plug-tobacco from the factory to knock out the front of the box, so as to expose its contents and place it in some conspicuous position. It is obvious, therefore, that the dust has access t0.the contents and that exposure to the air tends to dry it and therefore impair its quality.

By the use of my improved transparent lid or cover the tobacco is protected from continual exposure to air and dust and at the same time is easily accessible to the salesman and properly exposed to view.

Referring to the drawings in detail, 1 desi gnates an ordinary plug tobacco box, to which is clamped a transparent door or lid comprising the clamp-strip 2 and the transparent door 3, hinged to said strip, as shown at 4.. This lid orcover in configuration and size corresponds to the tobacco-box, so that there shall be no projecting edges or surfaces which will interfere with its proper stacking In order that the device may present an appearance as neat and attractive as possible, the clamp mechanism is arranged at the inner or rear side of the clamp-strip 2 and therefore is interposed between said strip and the corresponding edge of the box. The strip is also recessed, as at 5-, for a portion of its length, and the door is channeled or'recessed marginally about to the plane of the rear or inner face, as shown at 6, so as to leave an annular rectangular shoulder 7 to project snugly into the box and therefore prevent any undesirable play and relieve the hinges, when the door is closed, of its weight. The clamp proper comprises an upper strip 8, a lower strip 9, and a lever 10 for causing the longitudinal movement of said strips toward or from each other. The strip 8 bridges the recess 5 and is provided at its upper end with an angle-arm 11, provided with a depending point or sharpened edge 12. It is also longitudinally slotted, as at 13, and engaging said slots are guide pins or screws 14, which insure the proper longitudinal movement of the clamp. The lower member of the clamp is provided also with a rearWardly-projecting angle-arm 15, provided with an upwardlyprojecting point or sharpened edge 16. It is also provided with a longitudinal slot 17, mounted upon the guide pin or screw 18.

The lever 10 at its inner end is pivotally connected, as at 9, in the lower end of the recess 5 to the clamp member 8 and outward of such point is pivotally connected, as at 20, to the upper end of the member 9, the arrangement being such that as the lever swings down to a horizontal position the lower clamp is moved in the same direction, as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 2. When the lever reaches such position, it comes against the rounded corner 21 of the shoulder necessarily formed at the lower end of the recess 5 of the clampstrip outward of the pivotal point 19, which, forming a fulcrum, causes the inner end of the lever to rise as it continues downward, and consequently slides upward the clamp member 8. When the clamp is entirely open,

the parts occupy the positions illustrated in dotted lines, Fig. 2, and the device is fitted against the open side of a tobacco-box, as shown in Fig. 1. The lever is then reelevated and thereby contracts the clamp and causes its sharpened points or edges to be embedded in the soft wood of the box and reliably hold the device in position. hen thus secured, the clamp mechanism is practically hid from view and the box is provided with an ornamental transparent cover which protects its contents.

To secure the door from accidental opening, at its free edge it is provided with a retatable stem 22, provided with a clamp 23 at its outer end and a pointed arm or prong 24 at its inner end, the latter being designed, under proper manipulation, to easily embed itself in the wood of the box, as illustrated in Fig. 4. The reverse manipulation of said stem withdraws said arm or prong and permits the lid or door to be freely opened.

\Vhen the contents of a tobacco-box have been sold and removed and a second is opened, all that is necessary to do to provide the second box with this transparent cover is to manipulate the lever so as to force the clamps apart and then secure it in position upon the new box.

From the above description it will be apparent that I have produced a removable transparent lid or door for tobacco boxes which is simple, durable, and inexpensive of manufacture.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The combination with a tobacco-box, of a cover, comprising a clamp-strip, a transparent door hinged thereto, and a clamp interposed between said strip and one edge of the box, and mounted upon the former, consisting of two sliding members armed with sharpened points or edges at their upper and lower ends, and a lever pivotally linking their adjacent ends together, and adapted to move them farther apart or nearer together, substantially as described.

2. The combination with a tobacco-box, of a cover, comprising a transparent door, a strip hinged thereto and provided with a recess in its rear or free face, a lever adapted to fit snugly in said recess, a pair of clamp members pivotally linked at their adjacent ends to said lever and provided with longitudinal slots and angle-arms having points or sharpened edges, and guide-pins engaging said slots, substantially as shown and described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

ARNOLD M. DOlVNING. \Vitnesses:

M. R. REMLEY, E. B. TINKER. 

